• Welcome to SpeedSolving.com — the world’s largest puzzle community!

    You’re currently browsing as a guest, which means you have limited access to discussions, resources, member profiles, and community features.

    Join 50,000+ cubers and puzzle enthusiasts from around the world to ask questions, share solves, improve faster, and be part of the community.

    Registration is free, fast, and easy — create your account today.

    Already a member? Log in here to hide this message and start participating.

[Member Intro] Cubing somewhat since the 80s

airandwavebbs

Member
Joined
Jun 28, 2026
Messages
5
Location
California
Hi -

I begged my mom for a rubik's cube when it was being marketed for kids in the early 80s. It was an inexpensive puzzle so it was a no-brainer. Honestly, my 8 year old mind couldn't figure the thing out. I'd remove the stickers and start all over. It got to the point where the stickers weren't sticking very well anymore. And, a family friend's son wrote a book on solving the cube around that time while finishing his high school term. It gave him an edge on his application and acceptance to MIT. We got a free copy so, I took a gander.

I was a bit young for the book. The cube disappeared during a slumber party and that ended my career.

About fifteen years ago I was enjoying a book on group theory (math was my college major so be kind) when the cube had a chapter and, it popped back into my mind. I've always been a sucker for puzzles so I grabbed a cube from Staples. That little thing didn't last too long. All those memories of how poor it was to rotate came flooding back into my head. So, I went online and discovered a MASSIVE community around these puzzles... And brands.

Sort of turned into a sucker for qiyi. Got heaps of them in a big box. Right now my dailies are between the standard warrior w, the warrior jelly and DNA. I have every incarnation of their high end speed cubes but they're in boxes waiting for me to be good.

And, about 5-6yrs ago I introduced my little nephew to the cube while in town. I figured he was smarter than me at the same age of 8. I sent him home with a few from my collection and it turned into a little obsession. Last I checked he's a sub-7 solver. I'm a proud uncle.

I'd like to be a speedsolver at some point, but currently stuck at cube level: lame. Spent some years just doing beginner solves as a fidget fixer during long work meetings. Then I graduated to F2L for a while. Now, sort of obsessed with roux. ORANGE TO THE LEFT

As a hobbyist programmer, I'm working on a scrambler and solver in c++ that will serve as a tool on my bbs. Currently, I have a basic algorithm and solution lister that I refer to when working my roux top layer solves. Graphically, it's modelled after the wonderful speedcubedb.com after the site owner was kind enough to give me some json files to assist in the development of my software. He saved me heaps of time and I hate writing site scraping code.

Other than that, my hobbies are wide ranging. As a pilot, I enjoy flying to small towns and exploring remote communities and eating their unique foods. As a programmer, I like to write software that generates puzzles among other things. As a baseball nut I follow the SF Giants and do player analysis across the league. Gotta love those stats. I have more hobbies but that's enough for an intro. Good to meet you all.

That's all,

D
 
Ah, yes, the old wrist-burner original hardware! Good read, good to meet you, and you're in good company here.

There is an increasingly active niche group of cubers our age, and even unofficial age grouped rankings tracked:


As well as this thread here that's a decade and a half running:
 
Hi -

I begged my mom for a rubik's cube when it was being marketed for kids in the early 80s. It was an inexpensive puzzle so it was a no-brainer. Honestly, my 8 year old mind couldn't figure the thing out. I'd remove the stickers and start all over. It got to the point where the stickers weren't sticking very well anymore. And, a family friend's son wrote a book on solving the cube around that time while finishing his high school term. It gave him an edge on his application and acceptance to MIT. We got a free copy so, I took a gander.

I was a bit young for the book. The cube disappeared during a slumber party and that ended my career.

About fifteen years ago I was enjoying a book on group theory (math was my college major so be kind) when the cube had a chapter and, it popped back into my mind. I've always been a sucker for puzzles so I grabbed a cube from Staples. That little thing didn't last too long. All those memories of how poor it was to rotate came flooding back into my head. So, I went online and discovered a MASSIVE community around these puzzles... And brands.

Sort of turned into a sucker for qiyi. Got heaps of them in a big box. Right now my dailies are between the standard warrior w, the warrior jelly and DNA. I have every incarnation of their high end speed cubes but they're in boxes waiting for me to be good.

And, about 5-6yrs ago I introduced my little nephew to the cube while in town. I figured he was smarter than me at the same age of 8. I sent him home with a few from my collection and it turned into a little obsession. Last I checked he's a sub-7 solver. I'm a proud uncle.

I'd like to be a speedsolver at some point, but currently stuck at cube level: lame. Spent some years just doing beginner solves as a fidget fixer during long work meetings. Then I graduated to F2L for a while. Now, sort of obsessed with roux. ORANGE TO THE LEFT

As a hobbyist programmer, I'm working on a scrambler and solver in c++ that will serve as a tool on my bbs. Currently, I have a basic algorithm and solution lister that I refer to when working my roux top layer solves. Graphically, it's modelled after the wonderful speedcubedb.com after the site owner was kind enough to give me some json files to assist in the development of my software. He saved me heaps of time and I hate writing site scraping code.

Other than that, my hobbies are wide ranging. As a pilot, I enjoy flying to small towns and exploring remote communities and eating their unique foods. As a programmer, I like to write software that generates puzzles among other things. As a baseball nut I follow the SF Giants and do player analysis across the league. Gotta love those stats. I have more hobbies but that's enough for an intro. Good to meet you all.

That's all,

D
Welcome! What a cool story!
 
Wow you have a big history of cubing.

Happy to hear about your story.

When is your next comp?
Thanks. If they have competitions for cubers at level: lame, I'm there. So far no competitions. Until now I thought comps were for children, and, I'm 52. Because of what pglewis said, I didn't know there are adult competitions. There may be competitions in my future now that I know the 'community' has carved a niche for adults.
Ah, yes, the old wrist-burner original hardware! Good read, good to meet you, and you're in good company here.

There is an increasingly active niche group of cubers our age, and even unofficial age grouped rankings tracked:


As well as this thread here that's a decade and a half running:

Yeah, after i bought a rubik branded cube, I couldn't believe they are still junk after all these years.

Welcome to the forums! You have a wide variety of hobbies and that intrigues me! Good luck working on your program as well!

Thanks. Your hobbies will grow as you get older, and they be more expensive too. You'll see.

Welcome to the forums! I'm glad to see I'm not the only person who likes Qiyi.
Thanks. Hell yeah it's a great brand. I'm also a non-conformist.
Welcome!
Woah cubing for so long

Thanks. You'll be there before you know it.
 
OH YEAH!!!
I hate MoYu because other people love it so much (also because I don't like their cubes)
(I've been wanting an excuse to say that for so long now)
(I probably overreacted a bit but idc)
Yeah. QiYi also makes interesting models, like the jelly and dna. I have multiples of every model so if they wear out i have fresh ones ready to wear out.
 
OH YEAH!!!
I hate MoYu because other people love it so much (also because I don't like their cubes)
(I've been wanting an excuse to say that for so long now)
(I probably overreacted a bit but idc)
I don't hate any brands. At some point, I can't keep collecting these puzzles or my wife will begin to wonder about me.
 
Thanks. If they have competitions for cubers at level: lame, I'm there. So far no competitions. Until now I thought comps were for children, and, I'm 52. Because of what pglewis said, I didn't know there are adult competitions. There may be competitions in my future now that I know the 'community' has carved a niche for adults.

Competitions are all ages and there are no official WCA age group rankings; the senior rankings are unofficial (and opt-in, for privacy reasons).

Some regions have a fairly large contingent of older competitors, it depends on where you are. In a lot of cases you still run the risk of being the oldest one in the room, including competitors' parents. I personally think it's good for parents to see older competitors, maybe a handful get inspired to learn.
 
welcome, it’s amazing that people who remember when the original cube came out and are still intarested in it!

me personally… i remember when the gan 16 came out thats about it
Hi -

I begged my mom for a rubik's cube when it was being marketed for kids in the early 80s. It was an inexpensive puzzle so it was a no-brainer. Honestly, my 8 year old mind couldn't figure the thing out. I'd remove the stickers and start all over. It got to the point where the stickers weren't sticking very well anymore. And, a family friend's son wrote a book on solving the cube around that time while finishing his high school term. It gave him an edge on his application and acceptance to MIT. We got a free copy so, I took a gander.

I was a bit young for the book. The cube disappeared during a slumber party and that ended my career.

About fifteen years ago I was enjoying a book on group theory (math was my college major so be kind) when the cube had a chapter and, it popped back into my mind. I've always been a sucker for puzzles so I grabbed a cube from Staples. That little thing didn't last too long. All those memories of how poor it was to rotate came flooding back into my head. So, I went online and discovered a MASSIVE community around these puzzles... And brands.

Sort of turned into a sucker for qiyi. Got heaps of them in a big box. Right now my dailies are between the standard warrior w, the warrior jelly and DNA. I have every incarnation of their high end speed cubes but they're in boxes waiting for me to be good.

And, about 5-6yrs ago I introduced my little nephew to the cube while in town. I figured he was smarter than me at the same age of 8. I sent him home with a few from my collection and it turned into a little obsession. Last I checked he's a sub-7 solver. I'm a proud uncle.

I'd like to be a speedsolver at some point, but currently stuck at cube level: lame. Spent some years just doing beginner solves as a fidget fixer during long work meetings. Then I graduated to F2L for a while. Now, sort of obsessed with roux. ORANGE TO THE LEFT

As a hobbyist programmer, I'm working on a scrambler and solver in c++ that will serve as a tool on my bbs. Currently, I have a basic algorithm and solution lister that I refer to when working my roux top layer solves. Graphically, it's modelled after the wonderful speedcubedb.com after the site owner was kind enough to give me some json files to assist in the development of my software. He saved me heaps of time and I hate writing site scraping code.

Other than that, my hobbies are wide ranging. As a pilot, I enjoy flying to small towns and exploring remote communities and eating their unique foods. As a programmer, I like to write software that generates puzzles among other things. As a baseball nut I follow the SF Giants and do player analysis across the league. Gotta love those stats. I have more hobbies but that's enough for an intro. Good to meet you all.

That's all,

D
 
Back
Top